Plow



3 Sheets-Shae A w LELAND PLOW l r 1 d M 11 31 19 2 fi sfiu 3, ma. A. w. LELAND PLOW I Filed March 51, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0cm 8, i945. i A. w. LELAND 5 ,9

PLOW

Filed March 31, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet :s

Patented Oct. 8,- 1946 PLOW Alfred W. Leland, Rockford, Ill., assignor to J. 1. Case Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation Application March 31, 1942, Serial No. 437,009

4. Claims.

The invention of which the following is a detailed description, relates to a light draft plow for use with tractors. Plows of this nature are generally arranged in a gang supported from a wheeled frame for adjustment and drawn by tractors. The tractive efiort required in farming has been found to be affectedmaterially by the draft of the individual plow unit. By this is meant the resistance due to friction which each plow unit develops in operation. It has been a generally accepted view that plows operating in this manner follow the design of individual or single plows developed and primarily adapted to be drawn by horses. It thus follows that these individual plows have landsides recognized as necessary in keeping the plow in the proper direction in the furrow.

I have discovered that a wheeled gang plow can be so designed and arranged that the individual plow units will cut straight furrows without having to rely upon landsides. Accordingly I have designed an improved plow which is open on the side toward the unplowed land and may be used in combination with a wheeled frame, capable of doing everything required of such implements and in addition being free from the customary landside.

One object of my invention is to generally improve the construction and operation of implements of this class.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide the beam of the plow with a downwardly and laterally extending flattened blade. This blade is all that is necessary in order adequately to support the moldboard and the plowshare when no landside is necessary.

A further object of my invention is to design the beam of such cross-section as to provide the maximum strength and rigidity where needed and at the same time provide for flattening and flaring the rear end of the beam into an adequate support for both the moldboard and the plowshare.

Incidental to the above purpose it is also apparent that the beam and its blade may be either a single integral element or alternatively the flaring blade may be attached to the beam by any appropriate coupling element.

A still further object of my invention is to provide the plow unit, or the end unit in a gang, with a rear or furrow wheel so spaced as to relieve the plow unit from pressure against the side of the furrow. 7

It is also an object of my invention to design the plow in such manner as to reduce friction against the side of the furrow, replacing the usual sliding contact with a rolling contact.

In carrying out my design it will incidentally be noted that the plow operates without clogging from accumulation of trash.

Other objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred form illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved light draft tractor plow;

Fig. 2 is a perspective side view of the rear plow and wheel;

Fig. 3 is a perspective rear view of the said plow and wheel;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the same;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective side view of the plow;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary perspective side View of the beam;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the beam on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a cross-section of the blade on the line 99 of Fig. 7 and Fig. 10 is a side view of a modified form of beam and blade.

As illustrating the preferred form of my invention I have shown a gang plow adapted to be hitched to a tractor or the like. The plow comprises generally a fram ll across the front of which is a cross bar l2. This cross bar has an adjustable trailer hitch It by which the gang plow is drawn behind a power tractor.

The front of the gang plow is supported upon an axle M which is bent at each end as indicated in Fig. 1 to support wheels l5, l5. Thebent axle I4 can be rocked by means of rock arms l6 and associated parts so that the plows may be lifted clear of the ground or in operative position allowed to penetrate the desired depth. The linkage IB is controlled from hand lever IT. This is also a method of adjusting the depth of cut.

Each individual plow unit includes a beam l8 of which three are shown. These beams are held at their forward end by the frame I! and their rear portions are clamped by the cross-brace I9. Beam braces 20, 20 serve as spacers between adjacent beamsj In this manner the beams are held in parallelism with their rear ends forming a diagonal line with respect to the line of draft.

Each beam carries a depending shaft 2| with bottom yoke'22 in which is journalled a coulter23. The rearmost beam carries a plate 24 by means of which a rear tail o furrow wheel 25 is carried.

The furrow wheel 25 is mounted on an axle or spindle 26 which is carried in a bearingi'l. The upper end of the axleziiis laterallyiadjustable at 28 in accordance with the disclosure of the patent to Rutter No. 2,044,718, June 16, '1936, for the purpose which will be outlined. The bearing 21 is subject to rocking adjustment on it mounting 29 in plate 24, to the extent permitted by the adjustable stop 30. Link 3| extending from the arm 32 and the axle 26 connects with the bell crank lever 33. The lever 33 is pivotally connected to a reach rod 34 the front end of which is coupled to the rock shaft M. In this manner when the shaft I4 is rocked to lower the plow units, the rear or furrow wheel 25 is lifted to the extent permitted by the stop 30 to adjust the position of the plow.

I have shown the beams I8 to be formed of rolled channel, steel or I-beam shapes. This provides the requisite strength and rigidity for drawing the plows. At their rear ends the I-beam shapes are flattened into a flat blade 35. This blade is twisted downwardly and to the right to form a flaring support.

It is within the contemplation of my invention however, that the depending flaring flat support ing blade 35 may be used separately from the beam l8. As illustrated in Fig. 10 such a blade 35 may be held in a socket member 38 mounted upon a tubular or other suitable beam 37. In this way the same result may be obtained of providing for suitable carriage of the plow parts.

In either modification the significant feature is that the use of the'blade 35 is suil'icient to carry the necessary plow parts and to eliminate the necessity of the so-called frog.

The blade 35 forms a support for a wide foundation plate 33. This in turn carries a suitable moldboard 39 above a plowshare Ml} These parts are rigidly held together in the form shown in Figs. and 6. The angle at which the blade 35 and plate 38 support the plowshare and moldboard is clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. Here it will be found that the common vertical cutting edge of the plowshare and moldboard is at a slight angle to the line of the furrow as indicated in Fig. 5. The position and inclination of the furrow wheel 25 is also indicated. It may be said that the point of support of the rear wheel 25 is in line with the vertical edge of the moldboard.

From this relation it is apparent that the only part of the plow which comes in contact with the vertical side or landside of the furrow is the cutting edge, the plow bottom being open along this side as is apparent. The lateral pressure is taken by the rear wheel alone. Consequently there will be no friction on the side of the plow and no need for a landside. Also the rolling contact of the rear wheel offers less resistance than would be the case with a landside.

This arrangement of a light draft tractor plow provides the appropriate means for lowering the individual plow units into working position and supporting them rigidly by beams which are peculiarly designed for the sole purpose of advancing the plowshares and moldboards in cutting the furrow and turning over the soil. By providing the rear wheel 25 at an angle to or slightly offset from the cutting edge of the plow, the contact of the latter with the landside of the furrow is avoided. It will be evident that there will be no need to provide a landside or design a frog or beam for withstanding the added friction and draft resulting from a landside. It is thus possible to simplify the design both as regards the beam and the support for the plowshare and moldboard and to obtain marked improvement inthe actual operation of the plow.

A decided factor in obtaining improved results is of course the lateral adjustment of the rear wheel 25 as described in the above identified patent to Rutter No. 2,044,718, June 16, 1936, which provides clearance between the cutting edge of the plow and the side of the furrow.

While I have shown one form of my invention, it is to be understood that suitable changes in the form and arrangement of the several parts may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A plow comprising a wheeled frame, a beam on the frame having a twisted configuration and including a flaring blade extending downwardly and laterally, a plate carried by the blade, a moldboard and a plowshare both mounted on the plate, said plow being open on the side opposite the plowshare, a furrow wheel, a wheel spindle, a bearing carried on the beam for journalling said spindle behind said plate, means to adjust the spindle laterally of the moldboard and means for rocking the spindle vertically.

2. A wheeled plow having a frame, a series of channeled I-beams spaced by the frame, a crossbrace spaced rearwardly from the frame for holding said beams parallel, beam braces between adjacent beams, each beam having a twisted configuration and an integral flaring blade extending downwardly and laterally, plates on the blades, a moldboard and a plowshare both carried on each plate forming a plow unit and a wheel behind and offset from the end beam of the series.

3. In a wheel plow, the combinationof land and furrow wheels and a frame carried by said wheels and including a plurality of plow beams, each beam extending rearwardly for a predetermined distance substantially over and parallel to a furrow wall being formed by the plow, said beams each having a portion curving downwardly and then away from the'land, and said beams having a twisted configuration in the parts which depart from the above mentioned direction parallel to the furrow wall, said twisted configuration providing a flared attaching surface disposed at an angle to the direction of said furrows, a foundation plate attached to said attaching surface, a share and moldboard carried by said plate, and a, tail wheel carried by one of said beams and disposed in position to support said frame against landward pressure by running against the wall of a furrow being formed by said plow.

4. In a wheel plow, the combination of land and furrow wheels and a beam extending rearwardly for a predetermined distance substantially over and parallel to a furrow wall being formed by the plow, said beam having a portion extending downwardly and then away from the land, and said beam having a twisted configuration in the part which departs from the above mentioned direction parallel to the furrow wall, said twisted configuration providing flared attaching surface disposed at an angle to the direction of said furrow, a foundation plate attached to said attaching surface, a share and moldboard carried by said plate, and a tail wheel carried by said beam and disposed in position to support said frame against landward pressure by running against the wall of a furrow being formed by said plow.

ALFRED W. LELAND. 

